A Woman's Touch
by Maximum Ride 000
Summary: Not even a genius can outwit a crying baby, sometimes it just takes a woman's touch.  Enjoy


**So I wrote this story a while back and I finally got around to typing it up. I haven't watched Naruto in a very long time so I apologize for any OOCness or weirdness. I hope you enjoy this story as it was quite fun to write. Also, if you've never dealt with a crying baby it's more than enough to drive even a genius to the point of begging. **

**Nope, still don't own Naruto despite my best efforts.**

**~Maximum Ride 000**

_BANG! BANG! BANG! _

Three knocks shattered the relative silence of Shikamaru's apartment. He jerked into awareness with a muffled groan, "What do they want know?" he grumbled as three more knocks rang out. "Coming", he shouted in mild annoyance at the knocker's impatience. He staggered out of his bed and made his way to the apartment door. He pulled open the door and was surprised to see Kurenai standing there, dressed for a mission, with her baby sleeping soundly in the crook of her arm.

"Shikamaru, I'm really sorry about the early morning wake up call, but you were the only person I could think of. I've been assigned a week long mission and I was wondering if….", she trailed off, her eyes slipping down to the sleeping infant in her arms.

"Sure. Of course", Shikamaru responded, reaching out to take the baby from the relieved woman.

"Thank you so much Shikamaru", she said as she handed the boy the baby's diaper bag. With one last loving look at the sleeping form that now rested in Shikamaru's arms, she made the appropriate hand signs and vanished from sight. Shikamaru sighed quietly, so as not to wake the baby, and made his way back into his apartment. He gently set the baby down on the bed and moved over to the closet where he pulled out the small baby swing that Temari had given him when she had found out that he was to be the baby's godfather. He remembered that day quite clearly, she had laughed so hard that she had started to cry and then proceeded to slap him on the back and congratulate him. Two days later the baby swing had appeared on his door step along with a signed card from Temari that simply read "Good Luck". He sighed as he began snapping the rods together, wincing as they snapped together very audibly. He glanced over at the baby and was relieved to discover that the small child was still asleep. He placed the swing next to his bed and picked up the baby who opened its sleepy eyes to look at Shikamaru. "Hey little guy", he said softly, "your mom's gone on a mission and you're gonna get to stay with uncle Shika for a little bit". The baby smiled up at him and he gently set the baby down in the swing. He turned to get back into bed when he heard the sound he had been dreading since Kurenai had dropped the baby off earlier.

_WAAAAAAAHHHH!_

The baby's shrill cry shredded the silence of the apartment. Shikamaru immediately picked the baby up and rocked him gently back and forth, desperate to appease the little boy. Shikamaru sighed, it was going to be a long night.

Temari smiled as she lept through the trees that drew her ever closer to Konaha. This was the third trip she'd had to make to Konoha this month. With the Chunin exams drawing close, she and Shikamaru had spent a lot of time together. Not that she had a problem with that; he made for much better company than some of the other ninja in Konaha. Her smile widened when she thought about meeting him at the front gates. She landed gracefully in front of the gates and walked into the village, nodding her head in greeting to the two ninja manning the "welcome desk". She looked around expecting to see Shikamaru but didn't see the lazy ninja anywhere. She frowned, she swore she sent him a letter informing him of her estimated arrival time. She waited for ten minutes, half-hoping that he would show up, but eventually gave up and made her way towards his apartment. Oh boy, was he gonna get it when she found him...

"Please hush", Shikamaru begged the infant in his arms who had been crying on and off for the last two hours. He would have given anything if the baby would just stop crying. "Please…" he begged again, close to tears himself.

_BANG! BANG! BANG!_

Three knocks rang out, making the baby cry even harder. "Shikamaru, I know you're in there! Answer the door or I'll break it down!" Temari's voice drifted through the door. He rushed to answer the door, knowing full well that she would follow through on her threat if he didn't comply with her demands. He flung opem the door and the two stared each other. Temari smirked, "Let me guess, Kurenai got called away on an urgent mission and left the baby with you", she said clamly. He nodded, grateful that he didn't have to explain a potentially awkward situation. The screams of the baby interrupted his train of thought.

"Please hush", he begged.

Temari's smirk grew into a full blown triumphant smile, "You have no idea what you're doing do you?", she asked knowing exactly what the answer was but wanting to hear him say it out loud.

He gave a defeated sigh, "No", came the response.

Her smile turned sympathetic, "Give him here", she said gently, holding her arms out. He gazed at her skeptically, unsure if she was joking or not. "I know what I'm doing, I took care of Gaara and Kankuro when they were younger", she said. He looked down at the screaming child once more before he handed him to the blonde kunoichi. She gently rocked the baby back and forth as she began to hum a little tune that he was unfamiliar with. Slowly but surely the baby began to calm. Shikamaru felt all the tension leave the room and began to drift off to sleep where he was standing. Soon the baby had stopped crying altogether and was sleeping peacefully in Temari's arms. Shikamaru half smiled at how natural she looked with the baby in her arms. "Shika?", she called out softly, he jerked slightly at the sound of her voice, "Is there somewhere I can put him?". He nodded and moved back into his bedroom, motioning for her to follow. He indicated the swing next to his bed. She gently set the baby down and secured him in the swing. Mercifully, the child remained asleep. Temari turned to Shikamaru and opened her mouth to tell him that they should probably move somewhere else to avoid waking the baby, but found that she was unable to make any sound. It took her a few more seconds to realize that she couldn't make any noise because Shikamaru's lips were pressed firmly against hers and she had never felt so happy before.

"Thanks", he murmured against her lips. He pulled away, ignoring her disappointed sigh, and took her hand pulling her over to his bed.

"What…." she began, but he cut her off

"Don't mommy and daddy usually go back to sleep after the baby stopped crying?" he asked gently. She blushed but made no argument against as he pulled her back against her chest . "Good night Temari", he breathed against her neck.

"Goodnight Shika", she said before allowing herself to succumb to sleep.

**And thus ends my story. I hope you will take the time to leave me a review. I hope to post more stories soon. **

**Have a nice day and uh… Have a nice day**

**~Maximum Ride000**


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